I’ve been trying out a new moisturiser called Alva Sanddorn Moisturising Cream, from a range of anti-ageing natural beauty products. The ‘blurb’ says ‘it is an intensive day cream which boosts the protective mechanisms of your skin’. Then there’s the sciencey bit which says, in a nutshell, that the cream protects against damaging UV-rays and free radicals. It’s meant to smooth out fine lines and wrinkles and sooth irritated skin but in my case it certainly didn’t have a soothing effect – in fact far from it.

Anyone who’s ever read my various comments on beauty products will know of my love of all things natural as my skin has recently become much more sensitive than it ever used to be. I had high hopes for this moisturiser as I know all about the benefits of Sea Buckthorn, having researched it for another product I tried out. In case you don’t know, Sea Buckthorn plants have little orange berries and have a very distinctive scent. It’s a bit like Marmite though – some people like the smell, others hate it.  Regardless of the smell, Sea Buckthorn is high in provitamin A, vitamin E and fatty acids and so is brilliant for the skin.

Anyway, I digress, I have used the moisturiser three times now and each time, I have ended up with a red and very hot, almost inflamed, face. The first time it happened I gave it the benefit of the doubt and put the red face down to too hot a shower and too much shampoo on my face but when it happened the next day and then a third time running, I knew that the product wasn’t suitable for me. A shame, but hey, you win some, lose some.

Another product I bought from the same site My Pure was the Alva Daily Care Coconut & Lime Shower Gel and that one I am happy to say is lovely. It smells really fresh and invigorating and if it was a little bit cheaper I would buy it much more regularly. As it is, I think it will be limited to when I want to treat myself.

Incidentally, everything sold by mypure is sulfate free, paraben free & phthalate free. To find out about other chemicals you may want to avoid, take a look at the chemical checklist on www.mypure.co.uk .

Mrs. C

January 2011